Photo Credit| By Mandela

Three persons with disabilities have flown to Entebbe after being denied permission to travel from Juba International Airport on Sunday.

The three were part of a group of eight persons with disabilities who had booked tickets to travel to Uganda on a Uganda Airlines flight.

According to one of the travelers, Mandela Issac, the group had completed the necessary procedures and boarded the aircraft on Sunday when three of them were asked to disembark.

Mandela said an official from Uganda Airlines told them the airline’s policy did not allow more than four persons with disabilities to travel on the same flight.

“So around 10 minutes after boarding the flight, we settled, waiting for the rest of the people to complete boarding. We received sudden news that three persons with disabilities have to disembark from the flight,” Mandela said.

He said the group questioned why only persons with disabilities were being asked to leave when there were more than 60 passengers on the flight.

“They said their policy will not allow them to carry more than four persons with disabilities. They limit the number of persons with disabilities to only four,” he said.

Mandela said the three who remained in Juba faced difficulties after their personal assistants travelled to Kampala with the rest of the group.

He said the absence of the assistants made movement difficult, particularly after they were left behind on Sunday.

“Now, the team that went to Kampala now went with the two personal assistants. The three of us who remain in Juba, we don’t have now personal assistants,” Mandela said.

“So, movement became very difficult. Yesterday, it was hard for us to reach where we want to go and today even it was hard for us to come to the airport,” he added.

Mandela said the three were eventually allowed to travel on Monday morning and have since flown to Entebbe to join their colleagues.

“But thank God we were able to reach the airport and we are now ready to travel to Kampala,” he said shortly before departure.

Meanwhile, Catherine Vesensio, another person with a disability, said she experienced a similar incident in March while travelling to Cameroon.

She said authorities at Juba International Airport prevented her from boarding because she did not have a personal assistant, despite having previously travelled to Ethiopia.

“I even showed them that I have traveled in February to Ethiopia. Then how comes that? They refused me to travel,” Vesensio said.

She said she was told she could not travel to Cameroon without a personal assistant because the country was far away.

“So, they told me that, Catherine, you cannot travel because you don’t have a personal assistant and Cameroon is very far,” she said.

Vesensio called on persons with disabilities to advocate for their rights and urged the government to intervene.

“Dear colleagues with disabilities, this is now the time for us to stand up to advocate for our rights. We have to call upon the government to intervene,” she said.

There is no particular law preventing multiple persons with disabilities from travelling together on the same flight.

Eye Radio’s efforts to obtain comment from authorities at Juba International Airport were unsuccessful at the time of broadcast.